GEORGE TOWN: A hill development project in Sungai Ara has Taman Desa Ria residents hot under the collar.
Sunrise Garden Kondominium management committee chairman S. Manuel Nicholas said the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) or the Land Office must deploy their officers on the site to ensure the developers comply with “each and every” technical and safety requirement while work is ongoing.
“Sunrise Garden is one of seven condominiums in Taman Desa Ria. There are also many houses here,” he said.
“We have had discussions about our fears and the residents told me they are constantly worried about ongoing work with heavy machinery coming in and out of the hillside projects.
“The developers may have assured the relevant authorities that they will comply with all construction and earthwork guidelines, but who's making sure that they are?”
Nicholas said the authorities could not rely on the residents to monitor the developers as they have no technical expertise.
He said close and constant monitoring was needed before it was too late.
He said there were at least five ongoing projects in the area that the residents were concerned about.
“The authorities cannot just monitor on paper they must be physically present.
“It's too late to cry if soil erosion happens and lives are lost,” he said.
Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president S.M. Mohd Idrisagreed.
“The authorities may not have the resources to station someone at every site every day but if they can have an officer present even on alternate days, it would make the residents feel safe and the developers would not dare flout the law,” he said.
Last month, the council ordered the developer of a hillside housing project at Taman Desa Ria to submit a report to explain the appearance of a sinkhole measuring about 150cm in diameter and 100cm deep on a pedestrian walkway beside the construction site.
The residents were worried about the stability of the hillside after finding the sinkhole in November last year.
In April, some 200 residents from various housing estates in Desa Ria, Sahabat Alam Malaysia members and MPPP councillor Dr Lim Mah Huitook part in a protest against hillside development in the area. - The Star
No comments:
Post a Comment